Albums : Chris Brown : Fortune
Albums : Chris Brown : Fortune
Listen To Chris Brown : Fortune
Listen To Chris Brown : Fortune
Who Is Chris Brown?
Christopher Maurice "Chris" Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and actor. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, Brown taught himself to sing and dance at a young age and was involved in his church choir and several local talent shows. In 2004, he signed with Jive Records, and released his self-titled debut album the following year. The album peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, and featured the hit single "Run It!", which topped the Billboard Hot 100, making Brown the first male artist as a lead to have his debut single top the chart since Diddy in 1997. Chris Brown was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Brown's second studio album, Exclusive, was released in 2007. It spawned three successful singles; his second Hot 100 number one, "Kiss Kiss" featuring T-Pain, "With You" and "Forever". Exclusive was also certified double platinum by the RIAA. Brown's third studio album Graffiti (2009), included the top-twenty single "I Can Transform Ya", featuring Lil Wayne and Swizz Beatz. In 2011, Brown released his fourth studio album F.A.M.E., which became his first number one album on the Billboard 200. It spawned the hit singles "Yeah 3x", "Look at Me Now" featuring Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes, and "Beautiful People" featuring Benny Benassi. F.A.M.E. earned Brown his first Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 54th Grammy Awards. His fifth studio album, Fortune, was released in July 2012. However, apart from Exclusive, Brown's albums were not well received by music critics.
Apart from recording music, Brown has also pursued an acting career. In 2007, he made his on-screen feature film debut in Stomp the Yard, and appeared as a guest on the television series The O.C. Other films Brown has appeared in, include This Christmas (2007), Takers (2010) and Think Like a Man (2012). Throughout his career, Brown has won numerous awards, including two NAACP Image Awards, three American Music Awards and nine BET Awards. (Read More)
Fortune Review
Brown’s latest bout of perverse publicity has far less consequence. Men fighting men seems less offensive than embarrassing — and irresponsible in a public place. But if the incident will do nothing to lessen the impression of Brown as a brute, it does serve to highlight his music’s savvy stylistic shift.
The most adventurous sections of “Fortune” leap on the dubstep bandwagon. They move Brown one step from the giddy dance-pop style influenced by David Guetta on his last album, 2011’s “Fame,” and one step closer to Skrillex’s disruptive approach to club music. It’s a style that, in the last year, has intrigued stars all the way from Korn to Justin Bieber.
The closest parallel to Brown’s particular twist would be Usher. “Fortune” follows the general strategy of Usher’s just-released “Looking 4 Myself.” Both butch up the star’s dance beats and broaden their sense of pop. But Brown’s does so with far better material.
While he originally concieved “Fortune” as an extension of “Fame,” the new album turns out to be a more exciting and varied work. The harder cuts have more force than anything in Brown’s past, the softer ones, more sweetness.
On the roughness front, “Bassline” matches the fractured and changeable beats of dubstep to synthesizer textures buffed with a futurist sheen. “Till I Die” and “Mirage” borrow the street sounds of hip hop without losing R&B’s melodic shape.
Ballads like “Stuck on Stupid” and “4 Years Old” recall the puppy-dog persona Brown started his career with when he was a teen. At the same time, he intensifies his later R. Kelly-like, horndog character in fabulously filthy cuts like “2012” and “Strip.”
But the album’s signature pieces lie in songs like “Turn Up the Music” or “Don’t Wake Me Up,” which balance avant dance music arrangements with the more conventional kind. They’re good singles, performed with Brown’s usual acrobatic vocal panache.
Will that be enough to finally shift the accent away from all of Brown’s ugly press and back to his music? If not, it should be.
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